''Dear viewers, we have received tragic information... It seems that the hero known as Light Beam died during the fight against Emperor Tritan, a being who declares himself a general in the army of the king of monsters!''
A husky male voice reverberated in an electronics store on a popular street that was now empty. The place had no sound other than those coming from televisions that were left on while people were evacuated at an alarming rate because of the unfolding situation. Some wreckage of destroyed buildings could be seen accompanied by lifeless corpses, half-eaten or split in half that were scattered around the site, herding animals around them in search of food.
''Forty-eight million people are expected to have been victims of the current battle, which is being fought in various parts of the world and continues to the present time, having completely devastated some states and regions of countries around the wor..''
The man dressed in a blue formal suit, now ruffling his hair in despair as he secretly cried, said into the screen of the device. The people at the studio who broadcast the whole situation were also starting to lose their hope, that situation they were in was very similar to the historical records of the beginning of it all; Ground Zero; the event that marked the birth of heroes and monsters in society.
''Another hero death has been confirmed by cameramen at the scene, and now the death toll for the heroic agency side has risen to 118...'', he gave a light sigh and continued, ''Currently, the team led by Whiteking, which is made up of renowned heroes such as Whiteking himself and the monster girl who is better known as Jet Empress, are facing Emperor Tritan in the region of Washington that was evacuated earlier…'''
The world was falling into complete despair once more. People turned on their televisions and their eyes immediately watered, thoughts of the chaotic situation filled their minds and they squeezed their arms while others hugged the people they loved expecting only the worst. They tried to deny reality, constantly closing and opening their eyes and covering their ears with their hands, only to realize that what they were doing was useless.
There was no escape, but there were still brave individuals fighting for the people. They would try, no matter what.
On the television broadcast, which broke records for the number of people watching simultaneously, several heroes, regardless of gender, age, religion, or nationality, fought until their last breath to try to end that monstrosity in humanoid form.
"May the gods bless us all."
People prayed for the heroes, as they fought for everyone's sake.
********
''Dodge it!''
A young woman with a strange pink coloring in her hair, which was tied up in a bun so it wouldn't get in the way when she was going to attack or dodge, shouted at a middle-aged man who was fighting on her right, just a few meters from where she was.
The man quickly looked at the wolf-shaped monster that advanced towards him and took a step back, but due to his severe injuries, he was unable to do so properly. In this way, he ended up losing strength in his legs and tripping, falling with a loud thud to the ground.
The monsters that surrounded the heroes, at least those that were still alive, were great numbered and aiding their general, the Great Emperor Tritan, one of the generals of the king of monsters, who is an unknown entity and who emerged from Ground Zero. Those who were close to Kiryan, the lightning hero, looked in his direction as the man put his hands behind his back to break his fall, and rushed forward not caring if they were being attacked by the hero's companions.
Their mouths were so full of liquid that saliva was constantly dripping onto the floor, and their red eyes were terrifying and similar to monsters in horror movies.
''Fuck! NO!'', the pink-haired girl screamed once more, trying to reach the man, but realizing that it was too late when he was knocked down and completely torn apart by the beasts that ripped parts of his body with their huge teeth.
A frightening and cruel vision unfolded before the girl. The excruciating and painful death of one of her friends, one of her older companions on her journey.
The floor he was standing on, which was once gray, was now covered in a bright, vivid red color that caught everyone's attention and smelled like a slightly metallic material. Blood was leaking from several holes that were made in his body by the beasts, while parts of his body had been ripped out, such as his head, which was split in half with an expression of shock.
His body was sprawled on the floor, lifeless as if he were a mere wooden doll. His eyes didn't stop moving, because he was having some weird spasms, but it was obvious that no one would be able to survive this situation and that it was all just a reaction of his brain. It was just sick as fuck.
CHIMPL! CHOMP!
The monsters were enjoying the feast they had obtained and happily munched on the poor man's pieces of flesh. At the same time, the noise of bones being crunched quickly spread across the battlefield, making everyone present shiver.
CRAAACK! RRRIG!
His skin stretched in an unnatural way, while his wrist and body became crooked, making the man's teammates, including the pink-haired young woman, want to throw up right there. The beasts twisted what was left of the man's neck and laughed maniacally like hyenas.
The sickening smell of corpse was wafting through the air, for the man had not been the only victim on the side of the heroes who had died, and hundreds of corpses, whether male or female, were strewn on the ground, their bodies completely destroyed and some even sexually abused, most of them were poor women who walked the heroic path, trying to achieve the true justice.
They hadn't even had a chance to scream, having been killed instantly. To think that some of the strongest heroes died so helplessly was a frightening thing. To think that… To think that they would all end up this way, if the situation continued as it had, made them fear the imminent future.
"Gather in groups, and try to attack through the openings they show!" Rachel shook her head, trying to erase everything from her mind, and so forcing herself to focus on the battle.
The girl with long pink hair that reached her waist with a straight fringe that covered her forehead, with white skin, who looked to be no more than fourteen and no less than thirteen years old, was dressed in a red overcoat accompanied by boots and a change of clothes that matched her black leggings. Her eyes were trembling slightly as she waved her hands nonstop; in the chest region of her clothing, there was a golden brooch that was used to honor those who had won wars achievements, and extraordinary battles and so the other heroes obeyed her commands, now that most of the influential and powerful heroes had been killed or were grievously wounded.
Her hand turned into a claw, reminiscent of that of the beasts she was fighting, and she used it to pierce the belly of one of the monsters. Blood spurted from the spot as she pulled the claw out of the wound and pointed it towards other monsters, thus forming a pile of monster corpses that piled up with a huge smear of blood on the floor.
She was so immersed in the battle it was almost as if her surroundings had disappeared. While other heroes faced Tritan, she commanded the others and bought time so they wouldn't be attacked by the servants of the self-styled 'Emperor Tritan'. Because of that, and the adrenaline rushing through her blood, she couldn't even notice the child who had come out of some rubble in the place, relatively injured and trembling with fear.
''NO! PLEASE NO!''
A boy appeared on camera, people screamed in their homes and bunkers as they watched the scene unfold. A poor helpless child, with his tattered and oversized clothes that engulfed his small body, probably no more than 8 years old and no less than 6, fell to the stone-encrusted green floor of the street, while his eyes flickered at the sight of the enormous fist covered in blue flames coming towards him.
The heroes looked helplessly at the situation, some of them had bones that protruded from their bodies, and blood was gushing out in large quantities forming a huge pool, originating from the corpses of the heroes who had died during the battle and those who were extremely injured and just a step of joining the dead who were immobile and stretched out on the ground.
Some closed their eyes, but Rachel was different, she was willing to sacrifice herself from the start for the noble cause she fought for. It was this noblesse oblige that people discussed so much for countless years, and which has been described in several of the world's history books.
Despite her youthful appearance, her knowledge and life experience far surpassed that of people of the current era, as she was someone who lived a long time. For all that, there was no hesitation in her eyes as she jumped in front of the fist in a heartbeat, and positioned herself activating her powers at full capacity and forcing her body to a level she'd never taken.
''It's the end of you, insufferable bitch!'', the Emperor Tritan yelled excitedly, the hope of heroes and common people completely disappearing as Rachel threw herself in front of the attack, having pushed the child aside, trying to block the attack by herself.
She knew it was only a matter of time before the Round Table members arrived and dealt with this situation, and for that, she would die with honor.
She smiled, accepting that this was her end and just internally begging for the others to have the ability to stop that crazy freak in front of them. In all her hundreds of years of life, she had never been so afraid... she had never felt so empty, so scared and so alive as she did now.
It was strange, even sadistic. And she knew it.
Something surreal happened out of nowhere, startling her and making the girl even more alert than she already was.
"I didn't mean to intervene, but you dared try to kill a child and an adolescent in front of me, you son of a bitch?", a boy with slightly long, light brown hair said angrily, his tone showing anything but fear as he stood in the in front of Rachel and the child who was getting up from the cold floor. ''That's why I haven't been involved with you idiot villains and bad guys in years... You fuckers insist on doing shit all the time.''
He appeared suddenly, appearing from the air as if he had only been invisible all this time, which scared many of the professional heroes in the place, as they hadn't noticed the boy's presence until he revealed himself. The boy didn't look any older than the kid who had risen from the rubble, but he gave off a weird pressure that had everyone, including the beasts beside Tritan, on full alert.
Tritan's fist was stopped in midair and, soon after, it was sent flying away by an unseen force, leaving everyone in place completely stunned.
''Heh?''
Rachel and everyone else, whether it was Tritan or the viewers in their houses, looked at the boy in puzzlement. They were all looking at him with curiosity and strangeness on their faces, wondering about a lot of things involving him.
''Well, fuck all that. I'm already here, after all...''
TRANK!
A loud sound reverberated through the whole place, causing some people to cover their ears with their hands, trying not to hear it. The heroes and monsters on the spot staggered slightly as a light shock wave spread across the ground they were standing on.
TRAAANK
There was another terrifying crash, and in the next instant, Rachel and the others felt a tremor and it seemed as if the battlefield flattened out towards them, while some strange-looking symbols appeared from the boy's back. No one had any idea of what was going on, and that was certainly worrying for both sides of the battle.
Strange symbols and sounds began to spread throughout the place at a surprising speed, originating from the boy in front of Rachel. It was a skill of a spectacular level that was being activated, at the same moment, a glow engulfed the injured heroes and healed them almost instantly. They all looked in amazement at that strange glow, which was used and operated by the weird brat who appeared out of nowhere.
''Now, shall we begin?'', a voice came from inside everyone's head in the place, indicating that the boy was a telepath. Everyone got into position, in case they were attacked by him, wondering how that thing before them managed to use so many powers with such skill.
It was almost as if a god had descended under the Earth just for that moment, and the hairs on people's bodies stood on end from it all.
The eyes of Rody, the black-haired boy, met those of the humanoid-shaped monster who had tried to use an ability on him and the youngsters earlier, Tritan quickly looked away nervously, but Rody didn't give a damn, turning to face him, the heroes and monsters that surrounded the field he was on.
Rody frowned as he hissed something to himself at a frightening speed. At the same moment, Rachel, the child, and Rody disappeared from view, suddenly reappearing on the other side of the field.
''Stay here and tell the others not to get in my way.''
The boy rummaged around in his clothes pocket a few times, pulling out a strange-looking paper and tossing it in front of him, disappearing once more. He again whistled a mantra at surprising speed, having appeared behind Tritan, his eyes glued to the monster.
"Wind, Gust!" he yelled as he narrowly dodged an ice spear fired by Tritan, which left a small scratch on his left shoulder.
The boy landed on the ground, straightening his position in a matter of seconds and assuming an upright stance for battles. He internally admitted that Tritan was skilled, having had that reaction time to attack him in a split second.
''But that's all you come down to, that's why you're a piece of shit.''
He had completely fixed his gaze on the monster in the form of a man who held a thorn and attacked him nonstop, making the opposing front line. Several monsters were coming towards him, under Tritan's command, to get in the way of the boy.
The eyes of everyone in the world were fixed on Tritan; the person before him walked confidently, not even looking at anyone other than the Emperor, yet still responding to all attacks aimed at him. He stood in the center of the place, right in front of the monster that attacked him without time delay, with physical attacks and power attacks, forming some spears of different elements, which were fired at Rody at an alarming speed.
"Hup!" Tritan exclaimed as he delivered two successive blows, trying to hit Rody. The spears passed by his side, cutting through the air in search of reaching the human boy he was facing.
Rody unnaturally twisted his body, but he wasn't used to fighting in a child's body and therefore his body couldn't keep up with his senses.
In this way, Rody ended up receiving one of the attacks from the four ice spears, which pierced his right arm, causing him to bleed. Vivid red erupted from Rody's arm, which showed an expression of extreme pain but didn't stop moving for even a second.
Tritan ran past Rody, who parried the slashing attack he tried to deliver, and a second later, dove to the side to avoid an elemental spear that was hurled at him.
''Why the fuck are we watching a kid fight for us? No... more precisely what the fuck are we seeing right now?''
''I don't know...'' Rachel said, gaping like the others who witnessed the situation.
The two landed on the floor, rising quickly. At the same moment, a warm temperature could be felt by everyone present on the battlefield, simultaneously Rody, the boy who was fighting with Tritan, started to gather flames of strange colors on both of his arms. The flames circled his arm like a typhoon, spreading sideways but still attached to the boy's arm. He grinned deviously as a huge column of swirling flame shot out of his hands with a deafening sound and charged toward Tritan and everyone else on the battlefield, causing them to shudder.
''I'm tired of playing with you, and even though my body isn't suited for it yet, I think it's time to give you a spanking.''
A strange darkness began to run through the boy's body, almost as if it were a snake that surrounded him. It was disgusting and scary, but somehow it drew attention to a point where no one could take their eyes off the boy.
"Kneel before me, you damn bastards", the boy said calmly, making an awkward sign with his left hand and giving the monsters the middle finger while smiling.
Rachel, the JetEmpress, tried to look at the boy, forcing her body to withstand the pressure she suddenly felt when the boy said those words, and just like that, she saw something disturbing…
He was smiling, but his eyes were cold, covered in a dark, black coating that engulfed his iris and turned it completely black. The pressure she felt was coming from the boy, and her battle senses screamed in desperation inside her body, and even though that boy had saved her life just a few minutes ago, she was still scared and her subconscious only told her one thing: she had to run away, at any cost, regardless of the means.
''Now, shall we begin?''